Fuel-oil vaporizer



April 28, 1931.

c. w. SCHUDDIG 1,803,213

FUEL OIL VAPORIZER Filed April 4, 1927 '2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Z5 Z6 $2 3/ J0 '30 INVENTOR. -1P4 l t/ficf-lupp g- A TTORNEY.

April 28, 3 c. w. SCHUDDIG FUEL OiL VAPORIZER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 4, 1927 m m m N 1 C224 h/ zHupa/a ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 28, 1931 UNITED STATESPATENT, OFFICE 1 CARL w. scnunnre, or LANSING, MICHIGAN, Assrenor. 'ro JA ns w. wrnronn, on

, LAnsLNG, MICHIGAN FUEL-OIL VAPORIZER Application fil ed April 4,1927. .Serial no. 180,758.

This invention relatesto a fuel oil,v'aporrparticularly with fuel supplied at one or more points,- depending somewhat upon the requirements of the particular engine and the particular oil used, and i the passing of the oil and air through a more or less tortuous passageway to effect a thorough mixing. Upon mixing of the oil and air, the same is conducted, or passed into a hot chamber where the oil is thoroughly va-' 'zciporized, and for this purpose the exhaust gases coming from the internal combustion engine may be used to supply the heat. In the passing of the mixed air and oil into the vaporizing chamber, the heavier particles of fuel are separated, from the lighter particles of fuel so that these heavierparticles of fuel are brought into close proximity to a heated wall, whereby the vaporization of the heavier particles is better obtained.

Additional features of the invention lie in various adjustments that can be had., These adjustments provide for the regulatingof the quantity of air which is suppliedto the various points, and moreover :the adjustments permitvariation in the tortuous path for the The invention also con air and broken oil. 7 templates theme of a cleaner for the oil before it passes into the vaporizer, and the vaporizer is constructed so thata higher grade of oil, such as gasoline, canbe used until such time as. the vaporizer is hot enough to operate, whereupon the gasoline may be shut off and a lower grade of oil supplied to the engine.

For this purpose the invention contemplates .45; connected valve structures disposed at appropriate points for determining, by a single adjustment, the oilwhich is to be the engine. I a

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view taken through thevaporizer.

throughthe cleaner for the fuel.

F1g. 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the two devices in operating position.

supplied to A F g- 2 is a vertical sectional view taken- Fig. l is asectional detail of part of the vaporizer construction taken on line 44 of Fig. l.

The fuel oil ispreferably supplied under pressure from a tank (not shown), by means} of an oil pipe 1v (Fig. 2). The oil pipe 1 is connected to a fixture 2 provided with a valve 3 having an operating lever 4. This valve is for controlling the flow of oil, and the lever is to be connected up to other mechanism, later to be described, so asto operate inunison therewith. From the fixture 2, the oil passes through a channel 5 into a cleaner 6 provided, with an inner coarse screen 7 and an outer fine screen 8. The oil passes through the screens out into the channel 9 and then leaves. the cleaner through the pipe 10.

The pipe 10 leads into the vaporizer.

vaporizer consists of a body 12 whichis cored out and which has an opening 13, into which is fitted a screw threaded plug 14. This plug; is adjustable by reason of the,wrenchj receiving formation 15, and can be held in adjustment by a lock nut 16. V c

This plug is provided with a longitudinal bore which is enlarged at the upper end, as shownat 17, and at the lower end as shown at 18. The walls of the plug around the enlargement 18 are provided with openings 19 arranged in varying. vertical positions. The

plug is provided with interior threads, and a second plug 20 is designed to be-received therein. The oil pipe 10 extends through the plug 20 and the plug 14. Plug 20 is provided with nut formation 21 and it can be body of the vaporizer, and at its end is prothrough the tube may pass into the vaporizer vided with a nozzle 25. This nozzle fits within a pointed recess provided by the plug-like member 26. Fitting within the recess 17 of the plug 14 is a tube 27 which surrounds the oil pipe 10 and extends through the body of the vaporizer, terminating as at 28. It will be noted that a space between the pipe 10 and interior walls of the tube 27 is in com municationwith the air holes 19 tor the passage of air therethrough, the quantity. of

being regu lable by adjustment of plug. 20,"as will be described in the operation of the device. The body of the vaporizer is provided with a plurality of openings 39.- any suitable number, and cooperating with these openings is a plate 31 rotatably mounted and having an adjusting handle 32. The plate 31 has suitable-openings- 33 iforalignment with the openings '30. This construction isi or the entrance of air, and, as will readily be seen, provides for an adjustment to regulate the passage of air.

A spray or baffle plate 35 is secured to the upperend of the tube 27, and a second spray or baffle plate 36 is secured to the tube at a point below the first bathe plate. The tube terminates below the; bafiie35, and the tube is provided with a plurality of holes 37 below the baffle 36 so" that air which comes in underneath and around the edges of} the bat- Secured to the tube, asyby means o'fi' weldingor otherwise, are enlargements in the nature of sprays or baiiies-4-0 and 41, the member 40-being secured to the end ofthe tube the member 41 below, and each being below one of the battles. It is convenient to use; pins 42 which rise directly from the member 40 and support the baffle 35. The projecting members'40 and41 cooperate with projecting portions 43 and 44 in the channeled out portion of the vaporizen body, to thus provide a tortuous passageway through which the air and oil pass. 7

QAt this point it is thought that a description of the mixing of the air and oil by the structure thus described, is desirable. The oil comes froma tank through the cleaner and into the'vaporizer through the; pipe 10.

The oil escapes through the nozzle 25 and is broken up in the pointed chamber surrounding the nozzle. The oil, thusbroken up, falls from the pointed chamber and mixes with incoming air through the holes 30 which is the, primary air supply. All or some of the mixture now falls on the baflie 35, and airwhich' comes in throughthe tube 27 and out the end of the tube under the baiile35- is adds ed to the mixture. The mixture then falls through the passageway 50, and some of the. mixture will fall on the baffle 36. At this point, air coming through the holes 37 is added to the mixture. Air coming through the tube may be termed the secondary supply. From here the mixture travels through the passageway 52 into a center chamber 53 where the air and oil are thoroughly mixed.

It will be noted that the incoming air through the holes 30 is adjustable by regulating the plate by means of its handle, and also that the air coming through the tube 27 is Variable. This is; done by positioning the nut or plug 20 properly within the recess 18, thus opening or closing some of the openings 19;

,or raised and lowered a little. bitto varying the size of the openings 19.

Another feature is the fact that the passageways 5Q; and 52 can be regulated as to size. This is made possible by moving the plug 14 up me]: down on; its; threads, which is permissible by loosening the lock nut 16. Inasmuch as the tube27; fits within the recess; in the plug 14 the raisingand lowering of the plug raises and lowers the tube, and the enlargements 40 and '41, relative to the stationary enlargements 43 and 44 on the vaporizer body varymade to suit the particular fuel or engine, or both, and after the proper adjustment is attained it'will be maintained over a consider able period of time.

ing thesize oi the passageways 5'0: and "52;" These several adjustments, consisting of the. air control and the passage regulation, are

The body of the vaporizer is hollowed out to provide passageWays'G O, 60a, 61,, and fila forhot exhaust gases. The exhaust gases, either all or in part, enter iromthe rear side of the vaporizer through a suitable Y opening (not shown), heat the vaporizer, and; pass out through the opening 62. It will be'seen that V exhaust gases 'pas'saround the chambers in which the air an'd f-uel are baffled and mixed,

and it will a-lsobe seen that the air whichiswithin the invention to supply the secondary air by other means, as for instance, bya tube extending out through the plate 3.1. Y

hen the oil is mixedatfthe; chamber 53,

it passes to; the chamber 63 where it is vapor-'1 izedr The mannerin'wh-ich the oi-l 'passes from one chamber to the other is important, in thatthe heavierparticles of oil are-broughtinto close proximity to the walls of the ex haust gaschambers. This is accomplished by directing the mixture in a swirlingmanner through a passageway wherein there is a series of openingsarr'anged 'sothat lighter particles are designed to go through some openings,and heavier particles through other openings. For thisp'urpose a plurality of rings64, progressively increasing in size" are manner, as indicated by the arrows on the drawing. This results in the lighter particles.

clinging to the center, and the heavier particles being thrown outwardly. Thus, the lighter particles enter a central passageway 66. The heavier particles enter through the openings 67 between any two of the rings, with the heaviest particles entering as at 67a. Thus, the heavier particles are broughtinto close proximity to the hot walls which confine the exhaust gases. ticles are brought together in the hot chamber 63 where they are vaporized.

From here the oil vapor enters a chamber 70 and then passes through the outlet 71, controlled by a valve 72, to an engine. The chamber 70 is formed by a valve arrangement rotatably mounted in the vaporizer body and having a wall 73. The vaporizer is provided with an inlet 74 adapted to be connected to a supply of high grade gasoline. This is for the purpose of starting the engine, and in i doing so, the valve is turned so that the wall 73 closes the vaporizing chamber 68, thus opening the inlet 7 4. This supplies the engine with a high grade fuel, such as gasoline, which easily starts the engine. When the engine and the vaporizer become sufliciently heated, the valve is turned back to the position shown in Fig. 1, thus shutting off the supply of high grade gasoline and opening up the low grade oil vapor. As shown in Fig. 3, the valve in the vaporizer is provided with an arm 75, whichis connected by means of a link 76, to the arm 4 of the plug valve 3. Thus the two valves work in unison, which is thought to be a preferable manner of operation. The vaporizer is provided with a cap 77 which can be removed so that the interior of the vaporizer can be cleaned out from time to time. 9

Instead of using a high grade fuel for starting the engine in order to first heat up the vaporizer, the vaporizer may be first heated by the use of a pilot light or by the use of an electrical heating element. An important feature is the heating of the incoming oil as it passes through the body of the vaporizer through the pipe 10. It is important, however, not to heat the oil enough so that it vaporizes while in the pipe 10 but to heat the oil to a point just below its vaporizing point. I have found that the mixing of cold air with this heated oil, which comes from the nozzle 25, the air coming through the ports 30, causes an efficient breaking up of the oil and that the results are better than if the oil coming The volume of air coming through the tube All of these oil par- 27 acts as an insulating or cooling agent for the oil in the pipe 10. By adjusting the air inlet ports 18 and 19 as above described the volume of air in the tube 27 can be regulated to nicely determine the degree at which the oil is heated.

The vaporizer can be used with engines'of low compression or high compression type. With the high compression motors there is a tendency for the setting up of a knocking, especially with the use of heavy oils. When the vaporizer is to be used with high com- 7 pression motors it is desirable to mix with the vaporizedoil vapor a part ofthe exhaust gases. The oil which is vaporized in the chamber 63 is what is known as a dry mixture; or in other words, a thoroughly vaporized oil. For this purpose of mixing with this dry mixture some of the exhaust gases the vaporizer may be provided with a small opening 63a which permits the passage of some of the exhaust gases into the oil vapor which is passing to the engine. This adds to the dry mixture'a quantity of exhaust gases including water vapor and carbon dioxide, which is efiective in eliminating knocks characteristic of high compression engines.

Claims:

1. A fuel oil vaporizer comprising a body having a mixing chamber for fuel oil and air, a plurality of battles in said mixing chamber, and a vaporizing chamber for the mixture, said chambers being connected by a passageway, said passageway including a plurality of openings progressively arranged from the central portion of the passageway to a point near the walls of the passageway.

2. A fuel oil vaporizer comprising a body having a mixing chamber of uneven internal contour for fuel oil and air, a plurality of baffles in the said mixing chamber having a contour complemental to a portion of the internal contour of the mixing chamber and arranged to cooperate therewith to form a tortuous passageway, and a vaporizing chamber for the mixture, said chambers being connected by a passagway, said passageway including a plurality. of openings progressively arranged from the central portion of the pas sag-eway to a point near the walls of the passageway. I I

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

CARL W. SCHUDDIG. 

